By Femi Mustapha in Kaduna
Concerned stakeholders from the Niger Delta have called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to declare an emergency infrastructure intervention on the East-West Road and ensure the transparent, adequately funded reconstruction of the vital corridor.
The call was made in an open letter to the President dated October 16, 2026, and signed by Dr. Jacob Ighere of the Oghara Elite Forum (OEF) and Prof. Charles Eghweree, co-convener of the Oghara Study Group (OSG).
The stakeholders said they were drawing the President’s urgent attention to the deteriorating condition of the East-West Road and the need for an immediate reconstruction program, noting that the recent controversy surrounding the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway makes a clear and transparent federal commitment to the East-West Road especially important.
They said the condition of the corridor raises fundamental questions about road safety, economic connectivity, infrastructure development, and public accountability in the Niger Delta.
According to them, for more than six decades, the Niger Delta has contributed enormously to Nigeria’s economy through oil and gas production, yet the region continues to ex. Yet, there are severe infrastructure deficits, environmental degradation, unemployment, poverty, and limited opportunities for sustainable development.
They said the administration has an opportunity to address these longstanding challenges through decisive, transparent, and inclusive development policies.
The stakeholders said the East-West Road is not simply another federal highway but a strategic economic lifeline connecting communities, businesses, industrial centers, and major economic activities across the Niger Delta.
They said its prolonged deterioration has imposed enormous hardship on road users, transport operators, traders, farmers, workers, and families, with motorists facing dangerous conditions, longer travel times, flooding, vehicle damage, and higher transportation costs.
They argued that the daily suffering of tens of thousands of road users who depend on the road for transportation, trade, employment, and access to essential services deserves urgent presidential attention.
They therefore called on the President to declare an emergency infrastructure intervention on the road, using appropriate legal, budgetary, and administrative mechanisms to accelerate its rehabilitation and reconstruction.
They said such an intervention should include immediate safety measures, emergency repairs on critically damaged sections, improved drainage, flood-resilient engineering designs, and a properly funded reconstruction program.
They also asked the federal government to establish clear implementation milestones, publish the approved budget, and ensure independent monitoring of construction quality and expenditures, treating the reconstruction as a national economic and public safety priority.
Regarding the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the stakeholders acknowledged the recent clarification by the Federal Ministry of Works that the administration intends to proceed with the original 750-kilometer highway while undertaking an additional 400 kilometers of East-West Road reconstruction between Edo and Cross River states.
They described the assurance as welcome and capable of addressing concerns about the future of both projects, but said public assurances must be matched by concrete action.
They urged the administration to publish the approved engineering designs, project alignments, financing arrangements, procurement information, and implementation schedules for both projects, and to clarify the formal approval and funding status of the proposed additional 400-kilometer reconstruction.
They said the people of the Niger Delta deserve honesty, transparency, and measurable commitments, not another cycle of promises without implementation.
According to them, the East-West Road and the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway should not be presented as competing projects serving different ethnic interests, as both can contribute to regional connectivity, industrial development, tourism, trade, and economic diversification.
They said coastal communities deserve meaningful consultation and access to the economic opportunities associated with the coastal highway, while com. In contrast, those dependent on the existing East-West Road equally deserve safe and reliable transportation infrastructure.
They added that the federal government should deliver both projects transparently without sacrificing one development commitment for another.
The stakeholders listed six specific requests, including declaring an emergency intervention on the East-West Road that prioritizes dangerous and impassable sections; publishing a funded, time-bound reconstruction plan for the entire affected corridor, including the proposed additional 400 kilometers; and disclosing the approval status, engineering designs, drainage and flood-resilience measures, procurement details, and responsible contractors.
They also requested the establishment of independent monitoring involving professional bodies, civil society organizations, and affected communities, with public progress reports; clarification of how the East-West Road program will proceed alongside the coastal highway without delaying essential repairs; and immediate traffic safety measures, along with a mechanism for road users to report hazards and construction defects.
They said the people of the Niger Delta have waited too long for infrastructure commensurate with the region’s contribution to the Nigerian economy, and that the collapse of critical road infrastructure should not be treated as a routine administrative inconvenience.
They urged the administration to demonstrate honesty and transparency by publishing a realistic timetable, securing funding, and commencing visible reconstruction work on the East-West Road.
They stressed that the region needs safe, functioning roads that connect communities, reduce the cost of doing business, and protect lives.
They requested a public response from the Presidency and the Federal Ministry of Works outlining immediate actions, funding commitments, and an implementation timetable for the East-West Road reconstruction, saying they remain committed to constructive engagement in the interest of the Niger Delta and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
